


Torn Paper

by christallized



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28740024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christallized/pseuds/christallized
Summary: After Reverser, Ladybug tries to bring Nathaniel and Marc together, to make things right between them.Nathaniel offers his hand.Marc doesn't accept.
Relationships: Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 54
Kudos: 67
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bisexual_Fangirl_Forever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bisexual_Fangirl_Forever/gifts).



Marc liked to think he was a forgiving person.

Optimistic.

He didn't hold grudges or have some kind of secret archnemesis. He was just him. Marc. Quiet, easy to ignore, forgiving.

He didn't feel like any of those things right now, standing under the Eiffel tower as the last remains of Ladybug's lucky charm vanished over the horizon, healing whatever damage he had done as a result of letting his own pain overpower him.

"Marc and Nathaniel?" Ladybug placed a hand on their shoulders, turning the two boys to face each other. "By now you realize there was a big misunderstanding, but if you give each other a chance, I'm sure you'll find out how well you can work together."

Marc was still lost in his own head. The last thing he could remember was kneeling down in the park, picking up pieces of his journal and crying. Now he'd just come back from an akumatization by falling from the sky, the Mayor was here, and Nathaniel was standing in front of him.

Nathaniel.

The boy who had shouted at him, had yelled at him, had torn his notebook and started all this in the first place. The events were still fresh in his mind-it had no doubt been hours for the rest of Paris, but for Marc, it was his most recent memory.

Why?

What did he do to deserve this?

'A mistake,' Ladybug had called it.

No, mistakes don't react like that.

Mistakes don't shout at you like that.

Nathaniel smiled and extended his hand.

Marc couldn't help it, his face twisted into a look of hurt, of anger, of mistrust-

He stepped back.

The hurt that flashed across Nathaniel's eyes was clearer than water. He let his hand fall back to his side, smile vanishing.

"Why did you think that was okay?" Marc felt tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "Why?"

Nathaniel hunched his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll make things right."

Marc wasn't an angry person. The artist looked, small, shameful, so different from whatever he had become in the park.

But he couldn't forgive this. Not yet, not now. He could still feel the dirt of the park on his knees from when he'd fallen to grab his book, the dried tears on his cheeks, the horrible, twisting tightness in his chest and his neck and his heart, the pain that had overpowered him and turned him into a villain.

"I..." Marc choked, trying not to cry and failing miserably. "I need time to think things through."

"Marc-" Ladybug said, but Marc was already spinning on his heel and walking away.

"Thanks for trying, Ladybug," he said, before stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning his back on the heroes.

He could hear Ladybug calling his name, but it echoed dully in his ears. No one stopped him. He kept walking, heading home, heart in pieces like his notebook. Wherever his notebook had ended up.

Guess he wasn't a forgiving person after all.


	2. Chapter 2

A week passed by, and he still couldn't bring himself to be anywhere near Nathaniel.

The whole school knew what happened to him. He'd seen his akuma form, Reverser, on the news. He'd seen the clips, demanding Marinette and Nathaniel.

When he first watched that clip, seen the fury in Reverser's eyes, it hurt to know what he had become, but it also hurt in a good way. Like his feelings were justified, somehow.

He couldn't find the courage to face Marinette and talk to her. He didn't even know how she felt about all of this, but a rebellious part of his mind still feared that maybe, just maybe, Ladybug had been wrong and it hadn't been a misunderstanding at all, maybe Marinette _had_ actually been trying to make a fool of him.

He couldn't risk another heartbreak like that.

So he didn't. He avoided Marinette. He avoided Nathaniel. It wasn't hard, he wasn't exactly the kind of person someone would miss. Marinette tried to look for him, and Marc knew that, but after a few days she stopped trying.

Marc sat under the stairs, a new journal in his lap, his familiar black pencil between his fingers. Whenever he was upset, he would write. It always felt good to get his feelings out on paper, or at least, pretend they were someone else's feelings and make a small story that loosely resembled what he was going through.

His old journal never appeared. He'd gone back to look for it in the park the day after his akumatization, but it was gone. Not even a scrap of paper to remember the story he'd spent months on.

Maybe it was better that way.

There weren't any ideas for him to write. There hadn't been any for the past week.

It's not like anyone would like to read them. It's not like there was a point to writing anyways.

Marc felt his chest and throat grow tight again, tears forming under his lashes again.

He hated it. He hated not being able to write. He hated feeling on the verge of tears at every waking moment, just waiting for a stray thought or a small mistake to send him crashing down.

So he sat under the stairs, pencil in hand, not writing.

"Ooh, Sabrina, look at this!"

Marc knew that voice well. Anyone in this school could probably recognize her by the sound of her footsteps alone. It carried through the school courtyard, and Marc found his eyes moving upwards to the three figures standing above him on the stairs.

Chloe Bourgois and her 'friend', Sabrina, were at the bottom of the steps, barring someone's way.

Marc saw red hair and blue eyes and his heart froze.

"Give it back!" He heard Nathaniel say, but Chloe only laughed, flitting through a book that Marc could probably guess wasn't hers.

"Ladybug, Ladybug, more Ladybug-ooh, who's this?" Chloe's twisted grin widened as she held the book up for Sabrina to see.

"That's none of your business!" Nathaniel said, trying to grab the book, but with Sabrina blocking the stairs, he couldn't reach it.

"You know," Chloe said, closing the book with a snap. "I've talked to Ladybug about you. We're best friends, after all."

"You're lying," Nath said, hugging his bag to his chest.

"Do you want to know what she says about you?"

He saw Nath hesitate. That hesitation was all Chloe needed to continue.

"She says you're a loser. Your art is worthless. Her words."

"Y-you're lying," The tremor in his voice was unmistakable.

"Oh please. As if anyone would care about chicken scratch like this!" Chloe laughed, a shrill, ugly sound.

"That's not true!" Nathaniel spat, fists clenching, anger crossing his face.

"Oh, what are you gonna do, _reverse me_?" Chloe taunted.

The artist froze, fingers unclenching, hands falling back to his sides.

The triumph in Chloe's eyes was unmistakble. "Proves my point. Someone like you can't make friends."

Nath hunched his shoulders. "Stop it." If Marc hadn't been listening in on every word, he wouldn't have caught it, as quiet as Nath spoke.

"Hm?" Chloe looked up, seeing something outside of Marc's line of sight. "Hmph. Whatever. Come on, Sabrina." She turned, letting the sketchbook fall from her hand as she walked away, landing on the ground with a solid thunk. Marc winced at the sound.

The moment they were gone, Nathaniel rushed down the stairs, grabbing his sketchbook and checking it over for damages.

Marc watched him, motionless.

Did he get bullied like this often?

He remembered Chloe had shown up when he first visited the art club. He'd seen the tension in Nath's body the moment the blond-haired girl had appeared.

He couldn't forgive Nath yet.

But at least things made more sense.

Nathaniel sat down on the steps, holding the sketchbook to his chest. He saw Mme. Mendeleiev walk down the steps, not even passing a glance at the redhead as she checked her watch and briskly made her way out the door.

He didn't know how long Nathaniel sat there. He didn't know how long he stayed there, watching him.

Should he say something? Offer a bit of comfort?

Even as he thought about it, something held him back. He couldn't face Nath. Not yet. Just thinking about talking to him made his hands shake and his stomach twist anxiously.

Nathaniel's hand fell from his lap, a pencil held limply in his hands, so close that Marc could reach out and touch it.

Quietly, he turned away, looking back at his own paper, trying not to think about the fact that Nathaniel was right next to him. He felt guilty, part of him wanting to comfort him-he was obviously hurting, after all-but he couldn't bring himself to speak up. So he stayed, hiding under the stairs, not writing, not doing much of anything.

Something flashed in his peripheral vision, and Marc glanced towards it.

Panic seized his body.

It was too late.

He watched, frozen, as a little purple butterfly landed on Nathaniel's pencil and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

Marc felt horror.

Not just fear, horror.

A horrible, creeping dread seeped into his bones, freezing him in place while his mind repeated, over and over, _you could have stopped this. You could have done something._

The villain stood up, twirling his pencil in his fingers. Marc instantly clapped a hand over his mouth, stifling the noise of his breathing.

"Evillustrator?"

Both Marc and the akuma turned towards the noise. Marinette had just come down from the stairs and was gripping the railing, shock on her face.

"Hello, Marinette," the voice responded, empty and emotionless. "You wouldn't happen to know where Chloe was heading?"

"N-no, I don't-" Marinette started, but a sudden shrill voice from upstairs cut her off.

"Oh, come on, Sabrina! Even a dolt could figure something like this out!"

Evillustrator's head turned slowly up in the direction of Chloe's voice.

"Wait!" Marinette yelled, but Evillustrator leapt into the air, landing on the upstairs balcony and disappearing.

Marc watched as she instantly dashed in the other direction, out of the school. Probably to get help. He should run away too.

He got up on shaky legs, starting to make his way towards the door when Ladybug suddenly swung in from the ceiling, landing on the upstairs balcony.

He instantly ducked back underneath the staircase.

What if Ladybug saw him? He hadn't exactly been nice to her the last time they'd met.

Chat Noir wasn't far behind, following Ladybug up the stairs with a grin and comment that was lost in the wind.

Word was spreading now. People were running downstairs, quickly evacuating the building as alarms started to ring overhead, the screams and the wailing of the siren drilling into Marc's ears.

Should he leave? Stay where he was?

"Stop this, Evillustrator!" Ladybug yelled.

"This is all her fault!" The rage in Evillustrator's voice sent chills down his spine. "She's the one to blame!"

"You shouldn't take justice into your own hands," Chat Noir shot back. "You're just turning it into revenge!" The distinct sounds of a battle could be heard upstairs, Chat Noir's baton clanging against something with a loud ring, Ladybug's yoyo whirring through the air, other sounds that Marc couldn't place.

"She needs to pay!" Evillustrator's voice cracked. "Don't you see? I need to make things right!"

Something loud shattered, followed by Chloe's voice, screaming.

Marc huddled under the stairs, too scared to move. Everyone else had already evacuated; maybe he should, too. His limbs were shaking. The alarms overhead were still blaring, loud and intrusive. A part of the upstairs balcony exploded and fell to the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces and filling the courtyard with dust.

He couldn't move.

There was a sound as a door burst open, and then Sabrina was running down the stairs overhead, dragging Chloe by the wrist. Marc almost shrieked as Chat Noir jumped from the balcony, landing next to the staircase.

The supports underneath the stairs started to vanish in a flash of red lights as Evillustrator started to erase the supports under the stairs. Chloe and Sabrina screamed as the structure under them started to collapse, but Chat Noir vaulted towards them, grabbing them both and pulling them to safety.

The stairs above Marc's head twisted as the weight of the staircase broke the final supports.

Another spike of horror shot through his veins. He screamed, covering his head as the large metal structure descended towards him.

"Marc!" He heard Ladybug yell.

Something materialized around him just as the staircase fell, collapsing with a loud a terrifying crash, almost deafening to his ears.

He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death, or worse-

But there was nothing.

Slowly, cautiously, Marc lifted his head.

He was in a box.

A little clear box, covered in broken pieces of staircase and rubble.

He could hear voices around him, muffled by the ringing in his ears. Someone was moving large chunks of staircase away with impressive strength. To the left of him, pieces of rubble started to disappear, erased into nothingness.

And then Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Evillustrator were there, pulling and moving pieces of wreckage away. He could see Sabrina out of the corner of his eye, pulling Chloe into a room and shutting the door, probably trying to find a place to hide.

The box around him was erased, and Marc was instantly hit with dusty air, covering the surrounding area. He coughed, stumbling back and falling into Ladybug's arms.

"That's enough, Evillustrator," Ladybug said, turning to glare at the villain.

The artist was frozen, blue eyes wide with shock as he looked around. "I...I just wanted to make things right," he mumbled, voice trailing off as he turned to Marc.

Marc looked away, unable to meet eyes with him.

Evillustrator took a step back.

Then another.

Then he was turning, running, gone.

"Where is he going?" Chat Noir asked, puzzled.

"Follow him," Ladybug instructed. "I'll join up with you soon."

Chat Noir nodded and left, following after the villain.

Marc pulled away from Ladybug, clutching one arm.

"Are you okay?" The superheroine brushed the dirt off his shoulders. Marc shivered at the contact, and she paused.

"I'm fine," he said. It felt like there was dust in his throat. He still couldn't stop shaking.

Ladybug nodded.

"I saw what happened," he said. He had to get it off his chest. "It was Chloe, she said... horrible things to him."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Ladybug mumbled, a scowl crossing her face. That scowl spoke volumes.

"Is...is that why..." Marc didn't really know what he was asking specifically, but Ladybug nodded.

"I'm sorry things happened like this." She grabbed his hands. "Nath's situation is...complicated, and I'm sorry you got dragged into it. I know I asked you to give him a chance, but it's okay if you can't. Just don't blame him for this, please."

Marc nodded. He didn't have words right now, he could only nod and let the superhero help him to his feet.

"You should go somewhere safe." Ladybug patted his shoulder. Then she twirled her yo-yo, hooking onto a pipe on the roof, and flew out of view.

Marc looked around at the broken staircase surrounding him. Evillustrator was trying to make something right. But what?

He heard muffled voices from the room where Chloe and Sabrina had run into.

Marc quickly threw his hood over his head and started walking at a brisk pace towards the exit before they could see him.

He looked out across the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the superheroes, finding only empty sky.

The hurt in Evillustrator's eyes flashed across his mind.

He hadn't looked like the embodiment of rage and irrational anger that Marc had thought he would be. He hadn't even looked like a villain at all.

He looked scared.

Ladybug had asked him to give Nathaniel a chance.

He wasn't ready to do that yet.

But maybe he could work towards some kind of closure for them both.


	4. Chapter 4

Marc didn't try to hide as he walked into school the next day.

Most people had forgotten about his akumatization, but there were still a few people, mainly from Nathaniel's class, who gossiped and cast quick, questioning glances at each other.

Not to mention with the whole Evillustrator akuma, those whispers seemed twice as present.

A reporter coming into the scene had caught footage of Evillustrator protecting Marc, but was dismissed since Evillustrator apparently had a track record of being one of the few akumas with some form of a moral compass.

Cameras recorded the akuma as he ran from the school, collapsing several streets away and suddenly detransforming just as Chat Noir arrived on the scene. The akuma purified itself, vanishing into the sky while Chat Noir escorted Nathaniel somewhere more private.

"What prompted Hawkmoth to suddenly revoke Evillustrator's akuma?" Nadja Chamak had said, a well-practiced neutral smile on her face. "Could we have been witnessing an internal conflict between Hawkmoth and one of his most powerful akumas? Or is there a bigger plan in play from the masked menace that's been terrorizing Paris?"

Marc thought he knew the answer.

Three minutes of walking into school without trying to hide and Marc decided there were too many people looking at him, so he hoisted his backpack higher on his shoulders and made his way towards the locker room, looking for somewhere less crowded.

Several hours into the school day and Marc was starting to realize his original thought was incorrect. It wasn't just Nathaniel's classmates who were gossiping. It was everyone. Most of them were trying to be discreet, but many weren't.

People kept looking at him, and he hated it.

Maybe it was something he was wearing, or his face was injured, or something. But as he listened, caught snippets of conversation, overheard some loud comments, he realized it was something else entirely.

"You saw, right? Evillustrator protecting that kid in the red jacket?"

"Nadja said it's because of his 'moral compass'."

"That's the same kid who got akumatized a few weeks ago, wasn't it?"

"You know when she says 'moral compass' she just means 'crush', right?"

"He was turned into Reverser, right? The akuma who wanted Nathaniel and Marinette?"

"Wasn't Evillustrator in love with Marinette the first time?"

"Do you think-"

"Maybe Nathaniel had a crush on that guy and he got turned down?"

"Then why wouldn't Nathaniel get akumatized then? And where does Marinette fit into all this?"

"I could be that Nathaniel's cheating on him with her."

"Oh, you mean like they were like secretly in love all along?"

"So Reverser was trying to make Nathaniel love him again?"

"Maybe they broke up and that's why Evillustrator ran away after he saved that guy."

"You think so?"

"They probably hate each other now if that's what happened."

Marc stopped listening as rumors kept spreading around him. They just seemed to be getting progressively worse and worse the more he listened, and it didn't make him feel any better.

By the time he got to the end of his classes, he felt sick to his stomach. The glances at him varied from pitying to accusatory to smug. Everyone seemed to have come to their own conclusions about him.

It was by sheer luck that his eyes fell on Marinette as she was leaving her classroom, begging to walk out the door on her own.

"Marinette!" He called, rushing down the staircase. She instantly turned, eyes wide, mouth agape.

Marc stopped in front of her, clutching his bag with white knuckles.

Oh god, people were staring.

Even now he could hear the whispers accumulating around them, like a hiss of wind through a thornbush.

"Can we talk?"

Marinette's mouth snapped closed. "Oh, yeah! Sure! Do you...wanna go somewhere, or...?"

Marc looked around at the crowd that was begging to gather around them. His self-conscious anxiety prickled at the back of his skull uncomfortably. "Yeah."

They walked out of the school together, keeping a wide berth from the other students who were also leaving. Marc suspected some of them weren't actually leaving, just eavesdropping, hoping to catch a tidbit of information to spread a tirade of rumors.

"Don't think about them," he heard Marinette whisper. "Come on, my house isn't too far from here. We'll have some privacy there."

Marc nodded. He was sure the people following them would have plenty of rumors by tomorrow about Marinette taking him to her house, but he didn't want to think about that right now.

He followed Marinette as she led him upstairs to her room, full of pink accessories and photographs on the wall and little colorful items that embodied her personality with picture-perfect accuracy.

Marinette sat on the chaise lounge, patting the seat next to her. "What's up?" She asked, her voice gentle.

Marc sat down next to her, forearms on his knees. "How did it go wrong?" He asked. "How did it end up like this?"

Marinette sighed. "It's my fault," she said. "I wasn't clear enough. He thought your story was actually written by Ladybug, and I didn't know so I didn't try to correct him, and..."

"And when he found out it wasn't Ladybug, he got upset," Marc finished, dropping his head in his hands.

"I wish things had happened differently," Marinette said. "I wish you didn't have to see that part of him. He didn't mean it."

"I thought I could trust him." Marc's voice cracked. "I thought... I thought we could work together."

"I know," Marinette said.

"And I, I admired him so much!" There were tears in Marc's eyes, and he tried to wipe them away, but they kept falling. "And I thought he was charming, and creative, and, and cute, and-"

"Oh, Marc," Marinette rubbed his back.

Marc hugged his jacket to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut. "And then he _shouted_ at me, and _yelled_ at me, a-and," his voice trembled, barely able to form words. "And now I-I don't know what to feel anymore!"

Marinette pulled him close, rubbing circles into his back as he leaned against her, shaking. "He didn't mean it," she whispered, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I talked to him afterwards, I swear he didn't mean it."

Marc nodded, still trying to wipe his tears away. "Do your friends know?"

The blue-haired girl shook her head. "I didn't tell anyone. Nathaniel told Alix, but other than that...do you want them to know?"

Judging by how quickly things had already been blown out of proportion, Marc could guess how the school would treat Nathaniel if they knew. He shook his head.

Marinette looked Marc in the eye. "Do you want to talk to him? I can help you two meet up somewhere outside of school-well, I don't know if you want my help after last time-but if you need me, I'll do my best to help."

Biting his lip, Marc turned to Marinette. "I don't think I'm ready yet."

"That's okay. If you need anything, if you need to talk to someone-" Marinette smiled. "I'll be there."

"Thanks."

"Would you be upset if I talked to Nathaniel about this? Just to let him know that you don't hate him, that's all."

Marc shrugged. "I don't see how you can make things worse."

"Don't jinx me," Marinette said, smiling. "Really, don't."

That managed to bring a small giggle out of Marc. He wiped the last of his tears away. "I'm glad you're here," he said. "And for the record, I'm not mad at you, either."

Marinette took his hand in her own. "I'm glad."


	5. Chapter 5

Nearly two months had passed before Marc decided he was ready to talk to Nathaniel.

By then the rumors had long passed. Marc and Nathaniel never interacted, and he seemed to be on good terms with Marinette, so their curious classmates quickly grew bored and forgot about the whole thing altogether.

"What do I do?" Marc's fingers were clutching Marinette's jacket sleeve like a frightened child. "Do I just walk up to him? What if everyone sees me?"

"Why don't you write him a note?" Marinette suggested. "Ask him to meet you outside of school."

"Oh, god," Marc leaned back against his locker, clutching his chest with his free hand.

"Are you scared?"

" _Terrified_."

"Do you want me to give him the letter?"

"Marinette." Marc turned to look at his friend with wide eyes. "If something goes wrong and I get akumatized again-"

"I will be as honest as I possibly can," Marinette said, placing her hands firmly on the boy's shoulders. "No room for error this time. I'll even ask Alix for help! She's Nath's best friend, he'll listen to her."

Marc squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm counting on you. Please don't make me regret this."

Dragging Marinette with him, he sat down under the stairs, and Marinette sat down with him. Pulling out his journal, he began to write.

After eleven different drafts and a lot of stress, Marc handed Marinette the finished note.

Marinette read it over, quirking an eyebrow. "At the park again? Are you sure?"

Marc nodded. "If you and Alix can be there too, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course!"

"But not like, there, there. And not watching from your balcony, either!" Marc made vague hand motions. "Like, _in_ the park. But somewhere else."

"Got it." Marinette nodded. "Out of earshot but close enough in case something goes wrong."

"Exactly."

"See you after school, then!"

Marc watched her go, clutching his journal to his chest and hoping he hadn't massively screwed this up.

~oOo~

Marc sat on a bench, a few feet away from the fountain. He didn't really want to recreate their last interaction, and being in the exact same spot as before felt kind of instagatory.

Marinette was sitting on the opposite side of the park, looking over some of her schoolbooks. She caught him catching her eye from across the park and gave her a thumbs up. It looked like there was a particularly large bug flying around her, and Marc briefly wondered if she hadn't noticed it yet or if she had noticed and was just really chill around bugs.

Wiping his palms on his jeans, he nervously looked around the park for any sign of red hair.

This was probably a bad idea.

He should have chosen somewhere like the library, or outside of school, instead of trying to go for some kind of mental closure.

Maybe he should call this off.

No, it was too late for that.

Already he could see Alix, the short pink-haired girl from Marinette's class marching into the park, scanning the area. He raised his hand a little to catch her attention.

Where was Nathaniel?

Did he not come?

Did he have other plans already?

Did he not want to come?

Alix caught sight of him, then turned and jogged back out of the park.

Marc was considering whether he should stand up and go to her when she returned, dragging someone else by the arm. His heart rate spiked.

It was Nathaniel, looking at the ground and following Alix with quick footsteps.

Marc swallowed, turning to Marinette. She had noticed them too, and though he couldn't see her expression from this distance, just knowing she was nearby gave him a bit of comfort.

Alix clapped Nathaniel on the shoulders, spinning him to face Marc's direction before sprinting off to join Marinette.

_Oh, god._

_Take deep breaths. Don't panic. You're fine._

Nathaniel straightened and started walking towards him.

_Deep breaths deep breaths deep breaths deep breaths but don't look like you're hyperventilating that's bad-_

"Can I...uh...can I sit next to you?"

Marc nodded stiffly, scooting over to give the redhead plenty of room. Nathaniel kept his head down, staring intently at his shoes.

"I-" The artist paused, bit his lip, fidgeted with his jacket sleeves. "I want you to know that I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to be treated like that. If I could take back everything I said, I would."

"But you can't," Marc said, quietly.

Nathaniel nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. "I know."

It felt like he was walking on glass with every word, careful, afraid to say something wrong and ruin what he'd been working towards the past two months. So he chose his words carefully.

"Why did you do it?"

He could see the way Nathaniel curled up into himself, hunching his shoulders. "I was-it was dumb. I wasn't thinking right. There were things going on in my head, and I blamed you, and I shouldn't have."

"You thought you were being made fun of."

"...Yeah."

"Does that...happen often?"

Nathaniel looked up at Marc, not quite looking him in the eyes, but facing him now. "It's happened before," he admitted, after a short pause. "Chloe...she likes to bully me. I mean, she likes to bully everyone, so it's not like I'm some kind of special victim or anything, but...she's done things like this before."

"She has?"

"She constantly tells me my art's bad, she's ruined more drawings than I can count-she once spent a month making Sabrina forge fake love letters from a 'secret admirer' to put in my locker."

Marc covered his mouth with a hand. "That's horrible!"

"And now I've hurt you." Nathaniel clenched his fist. "I just wanted to make things right, and at first I thought that meant making Chloe pay, but she didn't hurt you. I did."

"You were hurting, too."

"I shouldn't have taken it out on you, though. You didn't know about any of that, you weren't involved, it was just-" Nathaniel's voice cracked, and he stopped. "It's not important. I want to make things right."

Marc watched as the artist opened his bag. His breath left him in a hush as Nathaniel pulled out a familiar black book.

"It's...my journal," he said.

Nathaniel held it out to him. "I fixed it as best I could," he said. "Sorry it took so long, there was a lot of torn paper."

Marc opened the book. His own familiar script stood out to him, the pages carefully and neatly reattached to the binding. He could still see the rips in the paper, but they were all secured together so seamlessly someone could have mistaken it for some kind of artistic design.

"You fixed it?"

"I tried." Nathaniel looked him in the eyes now, eyes full of earnest, guilt-filled blue depths, brimming with tears. "I want to make things right, but if you never want to talk to me again, that's okay. You don't, you don't have to see me ever again if you don't want to."

Not sure what to say, Marc just blinked, mouth open.

"A-and it's okay if you don't forgive me," Nath swallowed hard, tears running down his cheeks. "And I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry-"

Marc grabbed the artist and hugged him.

Nathaniel broke, sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he choked. "I'm sorry, _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Marc, I-_ "

"Nath," Marc whispered the artist's name, afraid to speak any louder or he'd break, too.

He pulled back, looking the redhead in the face. The tears in his eyes, the red in his face, the pain between his lips, pressed tightly together and barely holding back another sob-

Marc was crying too, before he could stop himself. "I forgive you," he said, blinking as his vision blurred, and he pulled Nathaniel close and cried, rocking back and forth as they held each other, messy and broken and ruined together, but willing to learn how to heal.

And Marc forgave him.

~oOo~

It took time for them to work things out, but they tried.

For the first few weeks, they met outside of the school, away from the prying eyes of their classmates.

Sometimes it still felt like they were walking on glass with every word, but Marc eventually relaxed around the artist, got to know him better.

And in return, Nathaniel gave him a chance, let him past the mistrust and the barrier he'd built for himself.

And even if there was still some broken glass here and there, and some pages torn by mistake, they would carefully, oh so carefully, mend the paper, pick the shards off the ground, a patient and slow process.

But they healed.

The first time Nathaniel made him laugh, his chest ached from the giggles that stole all the air from his lungs.

The first time Nathaniel held his hand, his limbs were trembling all over, barely able to contain his excitement.

The first time he kissed him, his heart was hammering, not from fear, but from the sheer thrill of the artist's lips against his own.

The first time Nathaniel said 'I love you', holding him in his arms and running his fingers through the writer's hair, Marc cried.

For every pain they shared, there were a thousand more joys. For every torn paper, there was a forgiving smile, knowing that there was nothing a little time and little love couldn't fix.

Marc found his hand fit perfectly in Nath's after all.


End file.
